Hotels rolling in Rolex business

Sunday

Jan 20, 2013 at 4:31 PMJan 20, 2013 at 9:12 PM

The Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend this year will not be wrapped in the glitz of the 50th anniversary celebrations that surrounded last year's races, but area hotels are nonetheless having little trouble booking rooms for the event.

JEFFREY CASSADYBUSINESS WRITER

The anniversary parties and parade might be gone, but the race fans are still coming. The Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend this year will not be wrapped in the glitz of the 50th anniversary celebrations that surrounded last year's races, but area hotels are nonetheless having little trouble booking rooms for the event. "I'm sold out for five days," said Pat Sullivan, director of sales for the 94-unit Homewood Suites near Daytona International Speedway. "Our (daily room) rate is higher this year, too." Race teams will begin arriving Wednesday to prepare for the 51st 24-hour Rolex 24 at Daytona on Saturday. This year, the weekend will feature a new event, the Ferrari Challenge.Last year, race organizers marked the Rolex 24's 50th anniversary with a parade and party that celebrated the race's history. The weekend drew an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 attendees, according to media reports. Hotel owners and managers offered a number of theories to explain why their bookings and rates for the weekend appear to be up over last year despite the extra festivities and celebrity appearances that led some local hoteliers to declare last year's Rolex 24 their best ever. Sullivan said some of his bookings are from guests who came for pre-season car testing, which started about two weeks ago, and decided to stay through the Rolex weekend. He also said the merger of the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am Road Racing might be drawing curious ALMS fans. However, Manoj Bhoola, president of Elite Hospitality, which manages the Best Western Plus and Hilton Garden Inn near the Speedway, wouldn't hazard a guess. "I don't know," he said. "I can't attribute it to any one thing." Bhoola, whose company also manages the Best Western Castillo del Sol Hotel and the Coral Beach Resort in Ormond Beach, said even his Ormond Beach properties are seeing higher bookings for the event. "(That's) unusual for the Rolex," Bhoola said. "It usually doesn't branch all the way out there. It's shaping up to be a better-than-expected January." The bump extends south, as well. The Country Inn & Suites in Port Orange also is expecting to be busier this year than last. "We're probably going to average around 75 percent (occupancy) over the weekend, which is up a little from last year," said Tom Clapsaddle, general manager of the 87-room hotel. On the beachfront, the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort — the Volusia-Flagler area's largest hotel — will be booked solidly through most of the weekend, said Jason Reader, general manager of the Daytona Beach hotel. Reader said the hotel's bookings are ahead of last year. Rooms are sold out Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The hotel sold out Friday and Saturday last year. Likewise, bookings are strong at the 323-room Plaza Resort & Spa on Atlantic Avenue. "We're sold out Thursday and Friday," said Kerry Mitruska, director of sales and marketing with the hotel, adding that the hotel is expecting 75 percent occupancy on Saturday and Sunday. "A portion of that — about one-third — is race-related (personnel). But, much of that is from leisure guests booking to attend the race." Blaine Lansberry, who runs the Best Western Plus Aku Tiki Inn and the Bahama House in Daytona Beach Shores, said the Rolex weekend has become an important driver of business for her hotels. "Last year, we sold out for the first time in years," she said, adding that daily room rates should be slightly higher this year. "We're expecting another sellout year for the Rolex. We sold out earlier last year with the 50th anniversary, I believe, being responsible for that." The weekend draws a mixture of car enthusiasts from around the world and race personnel to the hotels each year, she added.